Obituary: Greg Bassett, Salisbury Independent Editor

Ronald Gregory Bassett, 63, of Ocean City, passed away Sunday, December 10, 2023, at Atlantic General Hospital.

Known as Greg by all who loved him, he was a well-respected journalist whose career spanned more than 40 years.

He dedicated his life to telling the stories about the people who built Delmarva. His passions included golf, complaining about the Los Angeles Chargers, making people laugh usually at his own expense, and loving his two children, who were his absolute greatest accomplishment.

Born on October 14, 1960, he was the son of Joan Q. Bassett and the late Ronald George Bassett. Greg grew up in Ocean City, before moving to Salisbury where he graduated from Wicomico High School.

His love for journalism started at a very young age, when he would take pictures of breaking news events and get them published by local newspapers. He graduated from Chowan University where he received an AA in newswriting. He later studied journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. While at Maryland he drove the UM Shuttle bus and eventually became the coordinator for two years. He loved buses so much he drove the Ocean City municipal bus during summer breaks.

But it was his love of news that led him back to The Daily Times in Salisbury in 1987 where he went to work full time as a reporter. He was named Editorial Page Editor two years later. He met his ex-wife, Catherine Bassett, in the newsroom where she worked as a reporter.

Their life would take them to Washington, D.C., where from 1993-1997, he was an Assistant News Editor for the Washington bureau of Thomson Newspapers, which owned The Daily Times at the time.

He later served as Assistant City Editor for the Annapolis Capital newspaper before returning to his dream job as the Managing Editor of The Daily Times in 1999. He was later named Executive Editor, then General Manager of Delmarva Media Group, until 2013.

During his career he helped shape the voice of the community, and led important news coverage that made an impact. He served as moderator of numerous political debates where his tough questions mixed with his likable personality made everyone feel at ease.

In 2014, he helped create the Salisbury Independent, a newspaper which was an enormous source of pride for him. His dedication to the community finally had an outlet to share positive news alongside breaking news of the day.

He also served as host of PAC-14’s One on One, where he recorded more than 600 interviews with elected officials and other newsmakers.

He earned several awards and accolades throughout his career that are too numerous to mention.

He is survived by his two loving children, Caroline “Annie” Bassett, of Towson, and Andrew “Will” Bassett, of Phoenix, Arizona; his mother Joan Q. Bassett, of Ocean City, a sister, Lisa Anne Bassett, of Dallas, Texas, and her sons Jacob Fraze and Nicholas Fraze of Dallas; an ex-wife, Catherine M. Bassett, of Millsboro, Delaware; an aunt Louise “Buttons” Bassett, of Berlin, an uncle, Michael Bassett and his wife Lynda of Falls Church, Virginia, and cousins, David and Kathy Bassett of Snow Hill, and Justin Bassett and Jennifer Bassett, of Falls Church.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at 3 p.m. at Green Hill Country Club.

The Greg Bassett Memorial Fund has been established at The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, 1324 Belmont Ave., Suite 401, Salisbury, MD 21804, or online at www.cfes.org/donate, where donations may be made in his honor to continue the legacy of good journalism on Delmarva.